Artificial Light Source Based Messaging Platform

ABSTRACT

A processor receives data associated with a device. On the basis of the data associated with the device, the processor modulates a light from the artificial light source at a rate imperceptible to a human eye while detectable by a light sensor device. The modulated light is representative of the data associated with the device. The modulated light is detected, demodulated, and decoded by the light sensor device to retrieve the data associated with the device. Further, the data associated with the device is presented by the light sensor device to a user. In addition, the light sensor device is configured to receive input data from the user and communicate the input data to the processor via a wireless link. The processor is configured to receive the input data from the light sensor device and effect a change in a characteristic of the device based on the received input data.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of and claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/830,485,titled “Artificial Light Source Based Messaging Platform,” filed on Dec.4, 2017, which is a continuation application of and claims priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/362,183, titled “Artificial LightSource Based Messaging Platform,” filed on Nov. 28, 2016 and whichissued on Dec. 12, 2017 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,843,384, which is acontinuation application of and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/486,859, titled “Artificial LightSource Based Messaging Platform,” filed on Sep. 15, 2014 and whichissued on Nov. 29, 2016 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,510,427, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/877,547, filed on Sep. 13, 2013, titled “Artificial Light SourceBased Messaging Platform for Viewing Settings,” and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/877,565, filed on Sep. 13, 2013, titled “ArtificialLight Source Based Messaging Platform with a Response Mechanism.” Theentire content of each of the foregoing patent applications isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to a field of optical communication,and in particular relates to an artificial lighting source basedmessaging platform.

BACKGROUND

A system may have numerous devices that operate in concert to drive thesystem. For example, a lighting system for a building may comprisethousands of switches, occupancy sensors, light control panels, and/orlight fixtures configured to hold artificial light sources, such aslight bulbs or light emitting diodes (LEDs). In another example, asecurity system for a building may have numerous electronic locks,surveillance cameras, motion sensors, and so on. Further, each device inthe system may have different default or programmed settings.Furthermore, in today's world, each of these devices may be digitallyaddressable to provide a more efficient method to control the settingsof the devices.

Controlling an operation of the system may demand controlling a settingof one or more devices from the number of devices associated with thesystem. To control the settings of the one or more digital devices,initially a user may have to determine the settings of each of thedevices of interest. However, to determine the settings of the one ormore devices of interest, conventional technology may need a user tomanually locate each of the specific devices of interest, and manuallydetermine the digital address associated with the device of interest.Further, the user may have to determine where information regarding thesetting of the located device of interest is stored, and access theinformation from the location using the digital address. Alternatively,conventional technology may need a user to access spreadsheets ordatabases that store the locations to manually locate the one or moredevices and view its settings. Thus, accessing information associatedwith a device in a system using conventional technology may becumbersome, time consuming, and prone to errors. Further, as the numberof devices in the system increases, accessing information associatedwith a specific device using conventional technology may becomeincreasingly unwieldy.

In addition, once the settings associated with the one or more devicesare determined, conventional technology may lead a user to access acontrol system to change a setting of the one or more devices. Thecontrol system may be coupled to the one or more devices over a networkbackbone or over the Internet. Further, the user has to have specificknowledge of the functioning of the control system to change thesettings associated with the one or more devices. Alternatively,conventional technology provides a graphical user interface (GUI) thatis incorporated into each device that needs to be controlled. Suchinstallations may drive up the cost of the devices and may beimpractical. In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a technologythat overcomes the above-mentioned limitations.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure can address the above-described needs using anartificial light source based messaging platform. The artificial lightsource based messaging platform can be used to view data associated witha device as well as control one or more characteristics of the device,such as settings of the device.

In one aspect, a method includes a processor receiving data associatedwith a device. Upon receiving the data associated with the device, themethod includes modulating, using the processor, an artificial lightsource associated with the processor based on the data. The processor iscoupled to the device. The modulation results in generating modulatedlight via the artificial light source, wherein the modulated light isdetectable by a light sensor device and representative of the dataassociated with the device. Then, the method includes receiving, by theprocessor, data from the light sensor device over a wirelesscommunication link. On the basis of the data from the light sensordevice, the method includes effecting, by the processor, a change in acharacteristic of the device.

In another aspect, a method includes receiving, by a processor, dataassociated with a device. Then, the method includes modulating, by theprocessor, an artificial light source associated with a transceiver unitcoupled to the device based on the data. Further, the method includesgenerating, by the processor, a modulated light via the artificial lightsource. The modulated light is generated resultant to the modulation ofthe artificial light source and is representative of the data associatedwith the device. In addition, the modulated light is detectable by alight sensor device.

In yet another aspect, a method includes detecting, by a sensor device,a modulated light from an artificial light source. The modulated lightis representative of data associated with a device coupled to theartificial light source. Upon detecting the modulated light, the methodincludes demodulating, by the sensor device, the modulated light.Further, the method includes decoding, by the sensor device, thedemodulated light to retrieve data associated with the device. Inaddition, the method includes presenting, by the sensor device, the dataassociated with the device.

In another aspect, a transceiver unit includes an artificial lightsource configured to emit light. The transceiver also includes acommunication circuit configured to receive data associated with adevice. Further, the transceiver unit includes a memory configured tostore data associated with the device. In addition, the transceiver unitincludes a processor coupled to the memory and the artificial lightsource. The processor can control the artificial light source based onthe data associated with the device to generate a modulated light, andthe modulated light is representative of the data associated with thedevice.

In yet another aspect, a transceiver unit includes a memory configuredto store data associated with a device. The transceiver unit alsoincludes a processor coupled to the memory and an artificial lightsource. The processor is configured to control the artificial lightsource based on the data associated with the device to generate amodulated light. The modulated light is representative of the dataassociated with the device.

These and other aspects, features, and embodiments of the presentinvention may be more clearly understood and appreciated from a reviewof the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments andby reference to the drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitationin the figures of accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operational environment of the artificiallight source based messaging platform, according to certain exampleembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B (collectively ‘FIG. 2’) illustrate block diagrams of alight based message transceiver unit, according to certain exampleembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates process flow diagrams of one or more methods ofcommunicating data associated with a device using the artificial lightsource based messaging platform, according to certain exampleembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A and 4B (collectively ‘FIG. 4’) illustrate a process flowdiagram of another method of communicating data with a device using theartificial light source based messaging platform, according to certainexample embodiments of the present disclosure.

Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference tothe above drawings. The elements and features shown in the drawings arenot to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustratingthe principles of example embodiments of the present invention.Moreover, certain dimensions may be exaggerated to help visually conveysuch principles. In the drawings, reference numerals designate like orcorresponding, but not necessarily identical, elements throughout theseveral views. Other features of the present embodiments will beapparent from the Detailed Description that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed are a system, a method and an apparatus for artificial lightsource based messaging. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the various embodiments.

It will be appreciated that the various embodiments discussed hereinneed not necessarily belong to the same group of example embodiments,and may be grouped into various other embodiments not explicitlydisclosed herein. In addition, it will be appreciated that the variousoperations, processes, and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in amachine-readable medium and/or a machine accessible medium compatiblewith a data processing system (e.g., a computer system), and may beperformed in any order (e.g., including using means for achieving thevarious operations). Accordingly, the specification and drawings are tobe regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Beforediscussing the embodiments directed to the method, system, and apparatusfor artificial light source based messaging, it may assist the reader tounderstand the various terms used herein by way of a general descriptionof the terms in the following paragraphs.

The term ‘device’ as described herein may generally include anyappropriate digital device, electronic device, analog device, electricaldevice, networking device, security device, home appliance, and or otherappropriate device. Listing a few examples of the device, without beingexhaustive, the device may be a coffee machine, a light control panel,light fixtures, electrical lamps, a switchboard, a thermostat, atelephone, an electric/AC (alternating current) receptacle, anelectronic lock, a keypad, a modem, a server, etc. In another example,the device may include mechanical devices that are adapted to includeartificial light sources.

The term ‘artificial light source’ as described herein may generallyrefer to any appropriate man-made source of light. For example, anartificial light source may include, inter alia, electric lamps,incandescent lamps, light emitting diodes, gas discharge lamps, and highintensity discharge lamps. In the following description, even though alight emitting diode may be used as an example representation of theartificial light source, one of ordinary skill in the art can understandand appreciate that the light emitting diode may be replaced by otherappropriate artificial light sources without departing from the broaderscope of this description.

The term ‘data associated with the device’ as described herein maygenerally refer to any appropriate information associated with a device.The data associated with the device may include, inter alia, a digitaladdress of the device, an electric, electronic, and/or mechanicalsetting of the device, a list of components that form the device,settings associated with the components of the device, maintenance andservice information associated with the device, configuration of thedevice, a status of the device, or any appropriate operationalinformation associated with the device, etc. The artificial light sourcemay be configured to emit modulated light based on the data associatedwith the device.

The ‘light sensor device’ as described herein may generally refer to anyappropriate digital device adapted to detect light or adapted to includea sensor that is capable of detecting light. For example, the lightsensing device may include a mobile computing device such as a smartphone or a hand held device embedded with a light sensor. In anotherexample, the light sensing device may include a wearable computingdevice or a body-borne computing device, such as Google glass which is awearable computing device with a head mounted optical display. Inanother example, the light sensing device as a wearable computing devicecould be a watch with a digital display and adapted to detect themodulated light. In one embodiment, the light sensing device may includea display interface to visually display data to a user. In anotherembodiment, the light sensing device may be configured to transmit thedata to an external display device. In yet another embodiment, the lightsensing device may be configured to communicate data to the user throughother means, such as auditory, tactile, and/or olfactory.

An artificial light source based messaging platform may include a lightbased message transceiver unit (herein ‘transceiver unit’). Thetransceiver unit may be adapted to be attached to or embedded in anyappropriate device. The transceiver unit may include an artificial lightsource, wherein the artificial light source is adapted such that lightemitted by the artificial light source may be modulated at a frequencythat is imperceptible to the human eye, but detectable by a light sensordevice. In other words, the light emitted from the artificial lightsource may flicker, but the rate (frequency) at which the light flickersmay be imperceptible to the human eye, but detectable by a light sensordevice. The modulated light may be generated by controlling theartificial light source. Further, the modulated light generated from theartificial light source may be representative of any appropriate dataassociated with the device to which the transceiver unit is attached toor within which the transceiver unit is embedded.

The modulation of the artificial light may be based on data that is tobe conveyed. For example, if the data to be conveyed is 010 in binary,then the artificial light source may be controlled to initially emitlight at a first frequency representative of the first 0, followed byemitting light at a second frequency representative of a 1, which isfurther followed by emitting light at the first frequency representativeof the last 0.

As described above, the modulated light may be detectable by a lightsensor device. The light sensor device may include a light sensor, suchas a photo diode that is adapted to detect the modulated light from theartificial light source. In one example, the light sensor device may beadapted to specifically detect the modulated light and distinguishbetween the modulated light, light that is not modulated, flickeringlight from a light source due to an error in the light source circuitry,and/or light from natural light sources. In the following description,even though a photo diode is used as an example light sensor fordetecting the modulated light, one of ordinary skill in the art canunderstand and appreciate that the photo diode may be replaced by anyother appropriate light sensors without departing from the broader scopeof this description.

Upon detecting the modulated light from the artificial light source, thelight sensor device may demodulate the modulated light and decode thedata associated with the device that is transmitted through themodulated light. Further, the light sensor device may be configured todisplay the data associated with the device to a user over the displayinterface of the light sensor device. In one embodiment, when the dataassociated with the device is a digital address of the device, the lightsensor device may be configured to transmit the data to a centralizeddatabase or a centralized system over a wired and/or wireless network toretrieve additional data associated with the device which may becustomized to the user.

Once the data associated with the device is displayed to a user, theuser may decide to change the settings of a device. The user may inputthe changes via a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with thelight sensor device, such as a smart phone, smart watch, wearablecomputing devices, etc. The inputted changes, i.e., the new settingvalues may be transmitted to the transceiver unit coupled to the device.

The transceiver unit may include a communication circuit that isconfigured to receive data transmitted from the light sensor device overa wireless or wired communication link. The wireless communication linkcan include, inter alia, a Wi-Fi link, a WiMax link, a cellular link,Zigbee link, Bluetooth link, or any other appropriate wireless link.Further, the communication circuit may be configured to transfer thereceived data to a processor that is configured to change the settingsof the device based on the new setting values received from the lightsensor device.

Technology for artificial light source based messaging will now bedescribed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 1-4B which describerepresentative embodiments of the present invention. In the followingdescription, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details areset forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the variousembodiments. FIG. 1 describes an operational environment of anartificial light source based messaging platform. FIG. 2 describes thelight based message transmitter in greater detail. FIGS. 3-4B will bedescribed by making references back to FIGS. 1-2. Specifically FIGS. 3,4A and 4B describe the different operations of the artificial lightsource based messaging platform using suitable illustrations andflowcharts.

As described above, the present invention can be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those having ordinary skill in theart. Furthermore, all “examples” or “example embodiments” given hereinare intended to be non-limiting and among others supported byrepresentations of the present invention.

Now turning to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 illustrates an example operationalenvironment of the artificial light source based messaging platform,according to certain example embodiments of the present disclosure. Inparticular, FIG. 1 illustrates one or more devices 108 a-e, light basedmessage transceivers 102, a light sensor device 104, modulated light106, a wireless response 114, and a user associated with the lightsensor device 110. The following description may refer to a device 108,which may be representative of one or more devices 108 a-e.

In one embodiment, a device 108 may include a transceiver unit 102. Inone embodiment, the transceiver unit 102 may be built into the device.In another embodiment, the transceiver unit 102 may be attachable to thedevice 108. Further, in one embodiment, the transceiver unit 102 may beassociated with one device 108. In another embodiment, the transceiverunit 102 may be associated with more than one of the devices 108 a-e,i.e., one transceiver unit 102 may represent a group of devices.

The transceiver unit 102 may be configured to transmit data associatedwith the device by modulating light emitted from an artificial lightsource. In other words, the modulated light 106 may be representative ofdata associated with the device 108. In one embodiment, the dataassociated with the device may include device settings data (herein‘settings data’) associated with the device 108. The settings dataassociated with the device 108 can include, inter alia, the mechanicalsettings, electrical settings, power settings, temperature settings,meter readings, and/or any appropriate settings.

For example, for an electric lamp device, the settings can include,inter alia, the circuit number associated with the lighting fixtureadapted to hold the electric lamp, the voltage reading on the electriclamp, the power reading in watts associated with the electric lamp,light intensity of the light emitted by the electric lamp, serviceinformation including the date at which the lighting fixture wasserviced, and/or date when the electric lamp was fitted. In anotherexample, for a thermostat device, the settings reading can include,inter alia, a current temperature reading associated with aheating/cooling device, a pre-set minimum and maximum temperature, lastdate on which the thermostat and/or associated heating/cooling devicewas serviced, power reading associated with the thermostat, the name ofthe service technician that serviced the thermostat, components of thethermostat and/or the associated heating/cooling device that may need tobe replaced in the near future, model number of the thermostat, and/oran estimated date of the next required servicing.

In yet another example, for an electric lamp device within a largelighting system, the settings data can include, inter alia, a deviceidentifier such as a circuit number and/or a panel number, a groupidentifier associated with a group of electric lamps to which theelectric lamp of interest is associated. In another example, for anelectric receptacle device, the settings data can include, inter alia, avoltage and current rating associated with the electric receptacle,and/or information indicating if each socket and/or contact in thesocket is energized. In a further example, for a coffee maker device,the settings data can include, inter alia, a temperature reading of thecoffee, a voltage, current, and/or power reading associated with thecoffee maker, and/or a brew time. In another example, for an electroniclock device, the settings data can include information regarding thestate of the lock, a make of the lock, a model of the lock, an accessgranted information, an access denied information, and/or an access codeassociated with the lock.

In another embodiment, the data associated with the device 108 caninclude device identifier data (herein ‘digital address’) of the device108 which can be used to obtain additional data, such as settings dataassociated with the device 108 as will be described below in greaterdetail. One of ordinary skill in the art can understand and appreciatethat a digital address is an example representation of the deviceidentifier data, and the digital address can be replaced by any otherappropriate data that identifies a device 108 without departing from thebroader scope of the description. In another embodiment, the dataassociated with the device 108 can include both the settings data andthe digital address or just settings data. In an example embodiment, thetransceiver unit 102 may choose between the settings data and thedigital address based on the size of data, power constraints, and/orother additional factors that affect the speed of transmission, thepower associated with the transceiver unit, etc. For example, if thesize of settings data associated with a device is below a data sizethreshold such as 1 MB, then the transceiver unit may choose to transmitthe settings data. On the other hand, if the size of the setting data isgreater than 1 MB, then the transceiver unit may choose to transmit thedigital address which can then be used to obtain additional dataassociated with the device. In another example, if the transceiver unitis configured to conserve power, then the transceiver unit may decide totransmit the digital address of the device for each transmission insteadof transmitting large amounts of data through light modulation.

The modulated light 106 representative of data associated with thedevice 108 may be detected by the light sensor device 104. The lightsensor device 104 may be coupled to a centralized system through aprivate network or a public network, such as a VPN or the Internet overa wired and/or wireless communication link. In one embodiment, the lightsensor device 104 may be adapted to include a sensor capable ofdetecting the modulated light 106, such as a photo diode. Upon detectingthe modulated light 106, the light sensor device 104 may be configuredto demodulate and decode the modulated light 106 to extract the datatransmitted via the modulated light 106. Further, the light sensor data104 may determine if the data is settings data, a digital address,and/or any other appropriate data associated with the device.

If the extracted data is settings data, then the light sensor device 104may be configured to display the data to a user 110 associated with thelight sensor device 104. In one embodiment, the data may be displayedthrough a display interface associated with the light sensor device 104.In another embodiment, the light sensor device 104 may communicate thedata to a user 110 over an external or remote display unit. In yetanother embodiment, the light sensor device 104 may communicate the datato a user 110 via other communication means, such as auditory, tactile,etc.

If the extracted data is a digital address associated with the device108, the light sensor device 104 may be configured to communicate thedigital address to a centralized database, and/or a cloud server (herein‘a centralized system’) via a wired and/or wireless link. Further, inaddition to the digital address, the light sensor device 104 maytransmit a user profile or a user identifier associated with a user 110to the centralized system. Upon receiving the digital address and/or theuser profile, the centralized system may retrieve additional dataassociated with the device 108, for example settings data. Further,based on the user profile, the centralized system may filter theadditional data and customize the additional data based on requirementsand privileges allotted to a user 110. Then, the centralized server maytransmit the additional data to the light sensor device 104 via a wiredand/or wireless communication link. Further, the light sensor device 104may communicate the received additional data, such as the settings datawith a user 110 via one or more presentation means, such as visual,auditory, and/or tactile means.

Upon communicating the data associated with a device 108 to the user,the user may decide to change the data or input new settings data tochange the settings of the device 108. In one embodiment, new settingsdata or any other appropriate light control related data may be input tothe light sensor device 104 through an input interface embedded in orassociated with the light sensor device 104. For example, data may beinput through a touchscreen module of the light sensor device or througha keypad of the light sensor device. In another example, the inputinterface can be an audio interface or a gesture recognition interface.That is a user can provide voice commands as input or perform a gesturethat is captured and decoded as an input. In yet another example, aremote input device may be coupled to the light sensor device and a usermay access the remote input device to provide input such as new settingsdata to the light sensor device 104. The light sensor device 104 mayreceive the new settings data and communicate the new settings data tothe transceiver unit 102 over a wired and/or wireless link. When data istransmitted from the light sensor device 104 to the transceiver unit 102over a wireless link, the data may be referred to as a ‘wirelessresponse’ 114.

In one embodiment, the data transmitted by the light sensor device 104may be received by the transceiver unit 102. Further, based on thereceived data, the transceiver unit 102 may change the settings of thedevice 108. In another embodiment, the received data may be transmittedto a processor of the device 108 that is external to the transceiverunit 102, which in turn may change the settings of the device 108. Oncethe settings have been changed, the transceiver unit 102 may furthercontrol the artificial light source to emit modulated lightrepresentative of the new settings which may be detected, decoded, anddisplayed by the light sensor device 104.

Turning to FIG. 2, FIGS. 2A and 2B (collectively FIG. 2) illustrateblock diagrams of the light based message transceiver unit, according tocertain example embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular,FIG. 2 illustrates an artificial light source 202, a processor andmodulator unit 204, a communication circuit 208, and a memory 206.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the transceiver unit 102 can includeprocessor and modulator unit 204. In one embodiment, the processor canbe a multi-core processor. In another embodiment, the processor can be acombination of multiple single core processors. In one embodiment, thetransceiver unit 102 can include a memory 206 coupled to the processorand modulator unit 204. The memory 206 can be a non-transitory storagemedium, in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the memory 206 can bea transitory storage medium. The memory 206 can include instructionsassociated with the operation of the transceiver unit, which may beexecuted by the processor to perform operations of the transceiver unit102. In other words, operations associated with modulation of the lightemitted from the artificial light source 202 and communications to andfrom the transceiver unit 102 can be executed using the processor.

In another embodiment, the processor and memory may be external to thetransceiver unit 102. The processor may be part of the device 108 thatis associated with the transceiver unit 102. In said embodiment, thetransceiver unit 102 may include a modulator and a communication circuit208 that is configured to receive instructions from the externalprocessor, wherein the instructions may control operations of themodulator which in turn may control the artificial light source 202 tomodulate an emitted light.

In yet another embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 2B, the transceiverunit 102 may not include a communication circuit 208. In saidembodiment, the memory 206 of the transceiver unit 102 may be configuredto store instructions and other appropriate information to operate thetransceiver unit 102 as a self-contained unit. For example, the memorymay include the digital address of the device 108 associated with thetransceiver unit 102. Further, the memory may include settings data fora number of different settings associated with the device 108.

In one embodiment, the transceiver unit 102 may be self-powered usingbatteries. In another embodiment, the transceiver unit 102 may becoupled to a power supply source that provides power to the device 108associated with the transceiver unit 102.

In some embodiments, the transceiver unit 102 may be limited to theprocessor and modulator unit 204 and a memory 206. In said embodiment,the artificial light source may be a part of the device 108. Forexample, the artificial light source may be one or more LEDs embedded inthe device 108 that may be used for a power or status indication of thedevice. In said example, the LED may be coupled to the transceiver unit102 and may be adapted to receive signals from the transceiver unit 102for emitting a modulated light 106.

In an example embodiment, in addition to emitting the modulated lightrepresentative of data associated with a device 108, the artificiallight source 202 may be used for other operations such as illuminationof a surrounding space. In another example, instead of using anartificial light source 202 associated with the transceiver unit 102, anelectric lamp associated with the lighting fixture 108 a may be usedboth for illumination and data transmission by modulating light from theelectric lamp. In another example embodiment, the artificial lightsource 202 may be used specifically for transmitting data associatedwith the device via emitting modulated light.

In one embodiment, the light from the artificial light source may bemodulated by controlling the electric signals inputted to the artificiallight source that drive the artificial light source. In anotherembodiment, the light from the artificial light source may be modulatedby switching the artificial light source on and off at a desiredfrequency. In yet another embodiment, the light from the artificiallight source may be modulated by changing the intensity of light emittedfrom the artificial light source at a desired frequency. In other words,modulating an artificial light source may refer to modulating the lightfrom the artificial light source by adjusting, inter alia, a frequency,a wavelength, and/or an intensity of the light from the artificial lightsource. In some embodiments, the modulation may be perceptible to thehuman eye. In other embodiments, the modulation may be imperceptible tothe human eye.

In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the communication circuit102 may be configured to receive data of a device 108 (e.g., settingsdata or digital address) associated with the transceiver unit 102. Eachtime the settings of the device 108 are changed, the communicationcircuit 208 may receive the updated settings data. In an exampleembodiment, the settings data may be stored in the memory 206. Further,the digital address of the device may be stored in the memory 206.Depending on the size of the memory 206, the older settings data may betransferred to a larger external memory such as memory associated withthe device 108 for future reference and the latest settings data may bestored in the memory 206. In some embodiments, the older settings datamay be transmitted to a cloud server via the communication circuit 208to be stored in the cloud server for future use. In another embodiment,if the memory 206 has a large data store capacity, then both the oldersettings data and the updated settings data may be stored in the memory206.

Further, the communication circuit 208 may be configured to receiveexternal trigger signals that trigger the processor to initiate themodulation of the light emitted by the artificial light source 202. Inone embodiment, the external trigger signal may be received from thelight sensor device 104 based on a corresponding action of a user 110.For example, the user 110 may press a button on the light sensor device104 requesting the device 108 to provide its setting data or digitaladdress. In another embodiment, the external trigger signal may bereceived from the device 108 associated with the transceiver unit 102.For example, the device 108 may instruct the transceiver unit 102 tobroadcast data associated with the device 108. In yet anotherembodiment, the external trigger signal may be received from the devicecorresponding to an action of the user 110. For example, the user 110may switch on the device 108, which automatically sends a trigger signalto the transceiver unit 102.

Furthermore, the communication circuit 208 may be configured to receiveuser input data from the light sensor device 104 preferably over awireless link. The user input data may include new settings data tochange the settings of the device 108.

In one embodiment, the transceiver unit 102 may be configured tobroadcast data associated with the device 108 at regular intervals viathe modulated light 106 from the artificial light source 202 evenwithout any external trigger signals. In another embodiment, thetransceiver unit 102 may be configured to broadcast data associated withthe device 108 at intervals that are settable by a user.

In either case, upon receiving the trigger signal, the processor and themodulator unit 204 may operate to modulate the light emitted by theartificial light source 202 based on the data associated with the device108. The operation of the transceiver unit 102 may be described below ingreater detail, in association with FIG. 3.

Although specific operations are disclosed in the flowcharts illustratedin FIG. 3, such operations are examples only. That is, embodiments ofthe present invention are well suited to performing various otheroperations or variations of the operations recited in the flowcharts. Itis appreciated that the operations in the flowcharts illustrated in FIG.3 may be performed in an order different than presented, and that notall of the operations in the flowcharts may be performed.

All, or a portion of, the embodiments described by the flowchartsillustrated in FIG. 3 can be implemented using computer-readable andcomputer-executable instructions which reside, for example, incomputer-usable media of a computer system or like device. As describedabove, certain processes and operations of the present invention arerealized, in one embodiment, as a series of instructions (e.g., softwareprograms) that reside within computer readable memory of a computersystem and are executed by the processor of the computer system. Whenexecuted, the instructions cause the computer system to implement thefunctionality of the present invention as described below.

Turning to FIG. 3, this figure illustrates process flow diagrams of oneor more methods of communicating data associated with a device using theartificial light source based messaging platform, according to certainexample embodiments of the present disclosure.

The process begins at operation 302 and proceeds to operation 304. Inoperation 304, the transceiver unit 102 associated with the device 108may modulate the light emitting from an artificial light source 202associated with the transceiver unit 102. The artificial light source202 may be modulated based on the data associated with the device 108that is to be communicated to a user 110. Further, the artificial lightsource 202 may emit a modulated light 106 which may be detected by alight sensor device 104 in operation 306.

Upon detecting the modulated light, in operation 308, the light sensordevice 104 may be configured to demodulate and decode the modulatedlight to retrieve data associated with the device 108. Further, inoperation 310, the light sensor device 104 may display the decoded dataassociated with the device 108 to a user 110 over a display interface.In some embodiments, the decoded data associated with the device 108 mayinclude instructions to communicate at least a portion of the data witha centralized system to retrieve additional data associated with thedevice. As described above in association with FIG. 1, the light sensordevice 104 may communicate with the centralized system over a wired orwireless network. In one embodiment, the communication between the lightsensor device 104 and the centralized system may be secure andencrypted.

In addition to a portion of the data, the light sensor device 104 maycommunicate a location of the light sensor device 104 which is in avisible range of the device 108 and the transceiver unit 102. Thelocation may be obtained based on a location estimation unit, such as aGPS unit associated with the light sensor device 104. In someembodiments, based on the location of the light sensor device 104, thecentralized system may determine the device 108 for which the additionaldata is being requested. Further, the additional data may be transmittedto the light sensor device 104, which in turn may display the additionaldata to the user 110 via a display interface associated with the lightsensor device 104.

Upon displaying the data associated with the device to the user, inoperation 312, the user may express interest to change the presentsettings of the device 108 by inputting new parameter values for one ormore device settings. In an example embodiment, the user may input thenew parameter values (e.g., via a graphical user interface) to the lightsensor device, such as a smart phone. Further, in operation 314, the newparameter values may be transmitted to the transceiver unit 102preferably over a wireless link. In operation 316, the communicationcircuit 208 of the transceiver unit 102 may receive the new parametervalues for the device settings and in response, in operation 318 changethe settings associated with the device 108. Alternatively, thetransceiver unit 102 may send the received new parameter values to aprocessor associated with the device 108 which may realize a change insettings of the device 108. In yet another embodiment, the light sensordevice 104 may communicate the new parameter values back to thecentralized system that may be in communication with a control systemassociated with the device 108 to induce a change in the settings basedon the new parameter values.

In an example embodiment, the light sensor device 104 may be a wearablecomputing device, for example a head mounted optical display. The headmounted display may be adapted to visually display data to a user in afield of vision of the user. Further, in said example embodiment, thehead mounted optical display may include a photo diode adapted to detectmodulated light 106 from a transceiver unit 102. In the exampleembodiment, when the user donning the head mounted optical display unitlooks at a light fixture 108 b or when the head mounted display is in aline of sight of the light fixture 108 b, the head mounted opticaldisplay unit may detect a modulated light 106 from a transceiver unit102 associated with the light fixture 108 b. Nearly simultaneously, thehead mounted optical display unit may display settings data associatedwith the light fixture 108 b. For example, the head mounted opticaldisplay may display a circuit identifier, a panel number, a voltage andcurrent reading on the light fixture, a light intensity of the lightfixture 108 b if the electric lamp associated with the light fixture 108b is switched on, an operational status of the light fixture 108 b, or amodel of the light fixture 108 b. Further, one or more light fixturesassociated with light fixture 108 b, or a group of light fixtures thatare associated with each other may appear as color coded, wherein thecolor of the group of lights associated with each other may be differentfrom the color associated with light fixtures that are not part of thegroup. This helps in easy identification of a group of devicesassociated with each other by visual means. Further, this helps in easyreading of device settings by just looking at the device using awearable computing device such as a head mounted optical display unit.In another example, the wearable computing unit may be pointed at thedevice and the unit may pick up modulated light from the correspondingtransceiver unit 102 and display data associated with the device on thewearable computing unit. Upon receiving the settings data such as lightintensity associated with the light fixture 108 b, a user may desire toreduce the light intensity or dim the light fixture 108 b. The wearablecomputing device may either have a graphical display unit configured todisplay and/or receive control inputs (e.g., touchscreen) from the useror the wearable computing device may be communicatively coupled to asmart phone that has a graphical display unit configured to displayand/or receive control inputs (e.g., touchscreen) from the user. Theuser may use the graphical display unit to input new settings, i.e.,reduce the light intensity which may be communicated back to transceiverunit 102 via a wireless communication method, and the communicationcircuit 208 of the transceiver unit 102 may receive the new parametersand effect the necessary changes to the light intensity of the lightfixture 108 b.

The communication circuit 208 of the transceiver unit 102 may be acommunications receiver unit. In some embodiments, operations 312 to 318can be omitted, in which case the transceiver unit 102 can be replacedwith a transmitter unit 102 capable of modulating the light associatedwith the artificial light source 202 and absent the receivingcapabilities for receiving data from the light sensor device 104.

Turning to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the process flow begins with operation 450and proceeds to operation 452. In operation 452, the transceiver unit102 associated with the device 108 may modulate the light emitting froman artificial light source 202 coupled to the transceiver unit 102. Theartificial light source 202 may be modulated based on the dataassociated with the device 108 that is to be communicated to a user 110.The data may include a digital address of the device 108. Further, theartificial light source 202 may emit a modulated light 106 which may bedetected by a light sensor device 104 in operation 454.

Upon detecting the modulated light, in operation 456, the light sensordevice 104 may be configured to demodulate and decode the modulatedlight to retrieve the digital address associated with the device 108. Insome embodiments, the light sensor device 104 may be configured todetermine whether the data is settings data, a digital address, acombination of both, or another appropriate data. If the data includessettings data, the light sensor device 104 may be configured to displaythe settings data to a user 110 via a display interface of the lightsensor device 104 as described above in association with FIG. 3. If thedata is a digital address, then in operation 458 the light sensor device104 may be configured to transmit the digital address to a centralizedsystem 112. In addition to the digital address, the light sensor device104 may transmit a user identifier to the centralized system. The useridentifier may reference a user 110, and further identify the user'sprofile, user's preference, and other user information stored in thecentralized system.

In operation 460, the centralized system may receive the digital addressand/or the user identifier. Upon receiving the digital address and/oruser identifier, in operation 462, the centralized system may retrievesettings data and/or other additional data associated with the device108. Further, based on the user identifier, the centralized system mayfilter and customize the settings data and/or additional data beforetransmitting data to the light sensor device 104 for display. In otherwords, the data may be customized based on the type of user and theprivileges available to the user. For example, in the case of a lightfixture, an end user may receive settings information such as voltageand current readings, and the intensity of the light associated with anelectric lamp of the light fixture. However, the model and manufacturenumber, and last date on which the light fixture was serviced may bemasked from the end user. For a technician, none of the data may bemasked. The technician may be provided with all the available data. Inanother example, for an electronic lock unit, based on the end user, ifthe end user is authenticated, an access code may be transmitted to thelight sensor device which in turn may be communicated to the end userfor unlocking the electronic lock unit. On the other hand, a technicianmay be provided the lock model, the internal components of the lock, andother additional data needed to service or fix the electronic lock unit.

Once the settings data and/or additional data is filtered andcustomized, in operation 464, the customized data may be transmitted tothe light sensor device. In operation 466, the light sensor device 104receives the customized data and displays the customized data to a user110 via a display interface in operation 468. Once the data is displayedto the user 110, operations 470-476 may be executed. Operations 470-476may be similar to operations 312-318 of FIG. 3 and may not be repeatedagain. In some embodiments, the process may end with operation 468, andoperation 470-476 may be omitted without departing from a broader scopeof this disclosure.

In one example embodiment, user John Doe may don a head mounted opticaldisplay which may include a photo diode capable of detecting a modulatedlight from an artificial light source 202. The head mounted opticaldisplay including the photo diode may be a light sensor device. Further,John Doe may have a smart phone that is adapted to sense a modulatedlight from an artificial light source 202. John Doe may be a technicianassigned to fix a light fixture 108 a in a room that is locked using anelectronic lock 108 c that keeps the room locked. The electronic lock108 c may have an LED or artificial light source coupled to theelectronic lock 108 c or embedded in the electronic lock 108 c. Both thelight fixture 108 a and the electronic lock 108 c may be adapted toinclude the transceiver unit 102.

John Doe may walk up to the room and look at the electronic lock 108 c.In one embodiment, the transceiver unit 102 of the electronic lock 108 cmay be automatically broadcasting a device identifier associated withthe electronic lock 108 c. In another embodiment, the electronic lock108 c may be fitted with a button which when pushed initiates atransmission of the device identifier 102. The transceiver unit 102 maytransmit or broadcast the device identifier through modulated light froman artificial light source. The device identifier data may be embeddedin the modulated light. In other words, the light from an artificiallight source 202 associated with the transceiver unit 102 and coupled toor embedded in the electronic lock 108 c may be modulated based on thedevice identifier data.

If the transceiver unit 102 is emitting modulated light representativeof the device identifier, the head mounted optical display 104 and/orthe smart phone 104 that is in a line of light of the transceiver unit102 may detect the modulated light. Further, the head mounted displayand/or the smart phone may demodulate and decode the modulated light toextract the device identifier associated with the electronic lock 108 c.Further, either of the light sensor device 104, i.e., the head mounteddisplay and/or the smart phone may add John Doe's user identifier to thedevice identifier and transmit both the identifiers to a centralizedsystem 112. The centralized system 112 may authenticate John Doe andretrieve an access code associated with the electronic lock. Further,the access code may be transmitted back to either of the light sensordevices. If the access code is transmitted to a head mounted display,the access code may be visually presented to the user through the headmounted display. Alternately or in addition, the access code may bevisually presented on the smart phone. Further, John Doe may use theaccess code to unlock the door and enter the room.

Once John Doe enters the room, John Doe may switch off the smart phone.The room may have three light fixtures of which one is light fixture 108a. John Doe may look at a first light fixture in the room through thehead mounted optical display. The first light fixture that John Doelooks at may not include a transceiver unit and therefore no informationmay be displayed on the head mounted display. Then John Doe looks at asecond light fixture in the room which is coupled to a transceiver unit102. The head mounted display may detect modulated light from the secondlight fixture which may be demodulated, and decoded to extract dataassociated with the second light fixture. Further, the data associatedwith the second light fixture may be displayed to John Doe through thehead mounted display. Based on the displayed data, John Doe maydetermine that the second light fixture is light fixture Y which may notof interest to John Doe. The data associated with the second lightfixture may not be filtered or customized to John Doe's requirement.

John Doe proceeds to look at the third light fixture that is coupled toa corresponding transceiver unit 102. Data associated with the thirdlight fixture may be received in the form of modulated light from thetransceiver unit 102 associated with the third light fixture. The datamay include a device identifier of the third light fixture. Further, thehead mounted display may transmit either directly or through othercommunication means the device identifier along with John Doe's useridentifier to the centralized system. The centralized system mayretrieve the settings data associated with the third light fixture andfilter the settings data based on John Doe's user identifier. Thecentralized system may recognize John Doe as an assigned technician andthe data may include settings values that may be beneficial for atechnician. Further, the filtered and customized data may be transmittedto the head mounted display which in turn may display the data to JohnDoe. The displayed data may indicate that the third light fixture islight fixture 108 a and further the data may indicate that the electriclamp associated with the light fixture 108 a needs to be replaced.

In addition the data may indicate that the light fixture is set to emitlight at half intensity. After replacing the electric lamp or prior toreplacing the electric lamp, John Doe may change the settings of thelight fixture to emit light at full intensity by inputting the settingschange through the head mounted display. The head mounted display may beconfigured to read hand gestures and recognize a user inputcorresponding to hand gestures or voice inputs. The head mounted displaymay recognize John Doe's intent to increase the intensity of lightemission to full bright. Accordingly, the head mounted display maytransmit the user input from John Doe to the transceiver unit 102 over awireless link, provided the head mounted display has wirelesscommunication capability. Nearly simultaneously, the intensity of lightof the replaced electric lamp at the third light fixture may be changedto 100% bright.

Once the settings of the light fixture 108 a are changed, thetransceiver unit 102 associated with the light fixture 108 a may causethe artificial light source 202 of the transceiver unit 102 to modulatelight based on the new settings data. Further, the head mounted displaymay detect the modulated light and display the corresponding new datathat indicates the new setting to John Doe.

Although the present embodiments have been described with reference tospecific example embodiments, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.For example, the various devices and modules described herein may beenabled and operated using hardware circuitry (e.g., CMOS based logiccircuitry), firmware, software or any combination of hardware, firmware,and software (e.g., embodied in a machine readable medium). For example,the various electrical structures and methods may be embodied usingtransistors, logic gates, and electrical circuits (e.g., applicationspecific integrated (ASIC) circuitry and/or in Digital Signal Processor(DSP) circuitry).

The terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention,” and “thepresent invention,” as used herein, intend to refer broadly to alldisclosed subject matter and teaching, and recitations containing theseterms should not be misconstrued as limiting the subject matter taughtherein or to limit the meaning or scope of the claims. From thedescription of the example embodiments, equivalents of the elementsshown therein will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, andways of constructing other embodiments of the present invention willappear to practitioners of the art. Therefore, the scope of the presentinvention is to be limited only by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising a plurality of instructions, which, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:detecting, using a light sensor coupled to the processor, a modulatedlight from an artificial light source in an area, wherein the modulatedlight is representative of data associated with the artificial lightsource, and wherein the artificial light source is associated with afirst group of artificial light sources in the area; decoding themodulated light to retrieve the data associated with the artificiallight source; and visually presenting, via a display coupled to theprocessor, a first visual identifier associated with the first group ofartificial light sources in the area and a second visual identifierassociated with a second group of artificial light sources in the area,the first visual identifier and the second visual identifierdistinguishing the first group of artificial light sources from thesecond group of artificial light sources in the area.
 2. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the firstvisual identifier is a first color and the second visual identifier is asecond color.
 3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1,wherein the artificial light sources of the first group have a commoncharacteristic.
 4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim3, wherein the common characteristic is a group identifier.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is associated with an optical head mounted display device,wherein the area is an area of vision of a user donning the optical headmounted display device, and wherein the display is associated with theoptical head mounted display device.
 6. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the processor is associatedwith a hand-held computing device.
 7. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the processor is associatedwith a wearable computing device.
 8. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium comprising a plurality of instructions, which, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:detecting, using a light sensor coupled to the processor, a modulatedlight from an artificial light source in an area, wherein the modulatedlight is representative of data associated with a first device in thearea, and wherein the artificial light source is associated with thefirst device; decoding the modulated light to retrieve the dataassociated with the artificial light source; and visually presenting,via a display coupled to the processor, a first visual identifierassociated with the first device in the area and a second visualidentifier associated with a second device in the area, the first visualidentifier and the second visual identifier distinguishing the firstdevice from the second device in the area.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the first visual identifieris a first color and the second visual identifier is a second color. 10.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein thefirst device is a member of a first group of devices, each having acommon characteristic.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 10, wherein the common characteristic is a group identifier.12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein theprocessor is associated with an optical head mounted display device,wherein the area is an area of vision of a user donning the optical headmounted display device, and wherein the display is associated with theoptical head mounted display device.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the processor is associatedwith a hand-held computing device.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the processor is associatedwith a wearable computing device.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium comprising a plurality of instructions, which, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:detecting, using a light sensor coupled to the processor, a modulatedlight from an artificial light source in an area, wherein the modulatedlight is representative of data associated with a first device in thearea, and wherein the artificial light source is associated with thefirst device; decoding the modulated light to retrieve the dataassociated with the artificial light source; and visually presenting,via a display coupled to the processor, a first visual identifierassociated with the first device in the area, the first visualidentifier distinguishing the first device from a second device in thearea.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the first visual identifier is a color.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first device is amember of a first group of devices, each having a common characteristic.18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein thecommon characteristic is a group identifier.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the processor isassociated with a hand-held computing device.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the processor isassociated with a wearable computing device.